Amber Heard charged with illegally smuggling dogs into Australia
Amber Heard has been charged with illegally smuggling her dogs into Australia.
The American actress and her husband Johnny Depp made headlines in May when they flew Down Under with their Yorkshire terriers in tow without declaring them. Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce threatened to euthanise the pups if they weren't sent back to the US and although the couple complied, Amber was summoned to court in Australia yesterday.
The 29-year-old star was charged with two counts of illegal importation against the quarantine act, and another count of producing a false document. It is unknown what the document was but it's been reported that it carries a charge of AUS$10,200 and a year behind bars. The charges of importation are a penalty of ten years in prison and AUS$102,000.
These charges were revealed by the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions today.
The couple were in Australia as Johnny filmed the upcoming instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Amber recently shared her disgust at the treatment of her pets Boo and Pistol, insisting she has no desire to visit the country again.
"I have a feeling we're going to avoid the land Down Under from now on, just as much as we can, thanks to certain politicians there," she sighed on TV show Sunrise.
"I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes [of fame], including some government officials."
Politician Barnaby also spoke out about the issue at the time, insisting that he couldn't let the crime slide just because they are celebrities.
"If dogs come in and they have rabies ... the whole life in Brisbane changes. They won't be so sympathetic to Depp at that point in time," he insisted.